A unique blog dedicated to covering the worlds of book publishing and the news media, revealing creative ideas, practical strategies, interesting stories, and provocative opinions. Along the way, discover savvy but entertaining insights on book marketing, public relations, branding, and advertising from a veteran of two decades in the industry of book publishing publicity and marketing.

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Thursday, December 3, 2015

Novel Fantasizes About Hotel Cuba

I
received the following pitch about a new book that was too alluring to turn
away from:

“Open
relationships are not as shocking a concept today as they were 50 years ago,
they’re still regarded with overwhelming skepticism but the more people speak
about it the less unusual the concept sounds. Author Brian White’s new novel
Hotel Cuba explores how the desire for realizing sexual fantasies in today’s
world is widely accepted and being practiced by men and women alike, for the
obvious reason that sexual fantasies are part of being human.

“White
writes about the risks and rewards of realizing sexual fantasies within the
context of a committed relationship. “How far is each individual in a
marriage willing to go to please their partner when their sexual desires
differ,” asks White. In Hotel Cuba, Don and Carrie Nightengale navigate
psychological and physical obstacles in their own relationship as Don opens a
resort in Cuba that provides sexual fantasies for couples as each partner
approaches their 40th birthday. Like a train wreck, we watch
helplessly as Don and Carrie embark on a threesome and watch as their life
implodes through the pages with that one act. It breaks your heart to watch the
devolving of what was a successful, loving marriage with two children into the hell
it becomes.

”

As a
result, I interviewed the author, Brian White:

1. Brian,
what’s your new book, Hotel Cuba, about? Hotel Cuba is a cautionary tale for
married men and women alike who think living out all of their sexual fantasies
comes without consequences. The protagonist, Don Nightengale and his wife
Carrie both learn a hard lesson as they take a journey to expand their sexual
appetites. As they embark on their first threesome, life as they
knew it, (a successful, loving marriage with two children) begins to implode
like a train wreck. Don fuels the fire by then opening a resort in
Cuba that caters to couples turning 40 and looking to for the answer to the mid
life crisis through sexual fantasy. In the ashes of his marriage does Don
realize that he should have been careful for what he wished for.

2. Where
did the idea for the cover come from? It’s very provocative, with a bare-backed
woman putting his big cigar towards her plump lips. The image came from
a PR company that found it in a cigar ad.

3. After
college you toured Europe with a punk rock band. How did you road life
experiences influence your writings? Spending three months in a van my
choices were play a gameboy all day or start a journal. The journal turned into
a first book called Zero Tolerance. That was my practice book, then years later
and lots more practice. Hotel Cuba was born.

4. You are now an insurance
consultant but you used to be a restaurateur in Manhattan. Is writing about
several fantasy as exciting as living it out? Writing is always
going to be far more exciting then the real thing.

5. Your book raises questions
about redefining marriage. Is it considered cheating if a partner informs
their spouse about their acting out several fantasies? No it is
definitely not cheating. Cheating implies hiding, this is full disclosure. Only
each couples themselves can define how they want their marriage to me. No broad
definition.

6. Does marriage have to mean
monogamy? No. Monogamy is a learned behavior practiced over thousands of
generations. Our DNA is not monogamous.

7. Brian, you’re married and
live in Westchester, just like me. Shall we plan a wife swap – or is that best
left for another book? Best left for next Novel. Hotel Cuba 2
"Carrie's Revenge"

8. Hotel Cuba’s back cover
reads: “Imagine, an island off limits for so many years, a forbidden
fruit Americans have been deprived of tasting. Then, the gates
open. Imagine that island guaranteeing erotic fantasies with no
consequences.” When can we sign up? Soon. Each month the barriers
get lowered to Cuba. Hotel Cuba needs to become a movie, then I can fund the
Hotel. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy at its best!

About Me

Brian Feinblum, the creator and author of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, is the chief marketing officer for the nation's largest book promotions firm, Media Connect (www.Media-Connect.com), formerly Planned Television Arts, and has been involved in book publicity and marketing since 1989. He has served several book publishing companies as a publicist, book editor, and acquisitions editor. Brian, who earned a BA in English from Brooklyn College, became a published author in 1995 when he penned The Florida Homeowner, Condo and Co-Op Handbook. He resides in Westchester, New York with his wife, two young children, and an English Bulldog.